Full body workout for beginners

Dear Strength Training Newbies, here are 10 Fundamental Training Principles and an 8 Week Full Body Workout Program for a powerful and confident start!

Author: Bill Geiger

All these guys made serious mistakes along the way. But you are in luck, because for you we have put together 10 fundamental principles of strength training. You, as a beginner, can already learn, learn from other people’s mistakes. And to get you on the right track right from the start, we’ve put together an 8-week full-body beginner workout program that will put you to the test as you grow stronger.

After this introductory period, you will have another trait that unites you with all superstars: none of you will be considered a rookie anymore.

10 Keys to Muscular Development

Many guys are overwhelmed with the desire to get better, but they lack basic knowledge. Their workouts are based on the “grab and lift” principle, every day they do all the exercises they know in the gym in the hope that something will happen. And something really happens: after about a month, they quit their venture because they don’t see any result. Fortunately, you are on our site, and you will not face such errors. This information will help you figure out where to start.

1. Train your major muscle groups

Most likely, your desire to pump up powerful chest and arms, or the desire to strengthen your body in preparation for a certain sport led you into strength training. Working out all major muscle groups – chest, back, shoulders, quads, glutes, hamstrings, biceps and triceps (small muscle groups include the forearms, calf and abdominal muscles) – will allow you to create a proportional physique. This versatile and complete workout will also help prevent muscle imbalances that occur when certain parts of the body are given more attention than others. Imbalance is not a joke: it can lead to serious injury.

2. Technology comes first

Many presented in this program will be new to you. As a result, it will be difficult for you to achieve coordinated work of the target muscle groups. Even so, don’t worry. Continue training, honing each phase of the movement. Very soon, these movements will become a habit with you, and this will be the beginning of real growth of skeletal muscles and strength indicators. But even before you start working with a lot of weight, you need to throw all your strength into studying the biomechanics of basic movements and master the correct technique.

Exercising all major muscle groups is the key to a well-proportioned physique

3. Love multi-joint exercises

Exercises can be divided into two categories: multi-joint and single-joint. The main difference is that in multi-joint exercises, a coordinated work of a ligament of two or more joints is required to perform a movement. Only one joint is involved in a single-joint exercise. For example, the elbow and shoulder joints are actively involved in the bench press, while during the lifting of the barbell for the biceps, movement is limited only to the elbow joint. Since more muscles are involved in multi-joint movements, you can put more stress on your body and thereby achieve more muscle mass and strength gains.

4. Do multiple sets of exercise

Over the past decades, there has been a wealth of scientific research on strength training, and they prove that 3-4 approaches to each exercise bring the maximum benefit. You should start with one or two warm-up approaches with low weight, after which you can move on to serious loads.

5. Too hard or too easy = too bad

How long weight should you lift? Always warm up with a light weight to coordinate the work of the target muscle groups. While you are a beginner, you should choose a weight with which you can complete 15 reps on each set. Finishing the final reps will not be easy, but you must do them in accordance with all the canons of technology.

As you progress, you should use heavy loads with which you will get to on 8-12 repetitions, performed according to all the rules. Can you do more reps? This means the weight is too low. People seeking to increase their strength should choose an even higher weight that allows them to perform no more than 6 reps. But remember, under no circumstances should you sacrifice technique in the name of weight.

6. Monitor each repetition

You should approach each repetition as responsibly as possible: inhale and hold your breath, lift the apparatus confidently and with an accentuated effort, exhale only in the final phase of the movement. Then, while inhaling, lower the projectile. Move smoothly into the ascending phase, never use a bounce at the bottom of the trajectory.

7. Rest between sets.

During the approach, the muscles get tired, and they need time to restore the hydrogen balance and excrete lactic acid, which accumulates in the muscles and surrounding tissues. This typically takes 90 to 120 seconds, although large muscle mass (legs and back) may take longer. Small muscle groups such as the arms and calf muscles recover faster. Your breathing is a good indicator: when it is back to normal and you are ready to continue, start a new approach.

8. Rest at least 48 hours between workouts.

Key Point: Lifting weights in the gym is a stimulus that triggers a cascade of reactions that force muscles to repair and get stronger the next time they go to the gym. These processes require rest, time and nutrients. Obviously, training too often is unnecessary, and the lack of proper eating habits combined with reduced rest will hinder muscle growth. In terms of training frequency, do not load one muscle group more than once every 48 hours. As you gain experience and increase your training volume, you may even want to extend this rest period.

9. Try to progress with every workout.

Your body gets stronger in response to training stimuli, but if you work with the same weight every workout, it has no reason to keep growing. Therefore, do not fall into the trap of routine monotonous workouts. Try to do more reps with a specific weight in each session, or increase your working weight from workout to workout – you need increasing stimuli to move forward.

10. Stick to the program for 8 weeks

Beginners achieve a significant increase in strength in the first two months, but, as a rule, the process slows down when an athlete stays on the same program for too long. At this point, it’s time to radically change your training.

Moving out of the beginner category, you can modify your workouts by redistributing muscle groups and changing the number of exercises, sets and reps on each training day. By manipulating these options, you can refresh your workouts and create new stimuli to overload the target muscles. For any beginner, this is an exciting moment, because there are not so many periods in an athlete’s career when you can see a sharp increase in strength indicators in basic movements literally from training to training.

Once out of the beginner category, you can modify your workouts by redistributing muscle groups and changing the number of exercises, sets and reps on each training day.

General principles of the 8-week beginner program

• Do one exercise for each major muscle group.
  
  
• Spend the first two weeks mastering the technique, the working weight should be small. Use additional sets to hone your movement technique.
  
  
• In the third and fourth week, add one set at a time. Start with a light warm-up set, then gradually lift the weights for the next two sets. You should aim for muscle failure with the planned number of repetitions. Don’t sacrifice technique in the name of winding up the rep counter if the weight is too heavy. As you can imagine, muscle failure is achieved at the moment when you cannot perform the movement as described in the textbooks.
  
  
• Start with a light warm-up set during the third phase (5-8 weeks), then put on some serious weights in the second and third sets. Try to pick a weight with which you can only finish the planned number of repetitions. If you can do more reps, the weight needs to be understood. If you cannot reach your goal, then the weight is too heavy.
  
  
• Over time, you will get stronger, and you will have to do more reps and / or increase the load in order to give adequate stimulation to the target muscles.
  
  
• If an exercise with dumbbells or a barbell seems too difficult, find an analogue on the simulator, practice, and then return to the exercise with free weights.
  
  
• Engage in this program three times a week, with a mandatory rest day between workouts (for example, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday).

Full body workout program for beginners

1-2 week

3-4 week

5-8 week

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